Share this article

10 dilapidated buildings to be razed

By the end of the year, Buffalo officials hope to have razed 10 large abandoned and crumbling commercial buildings across the city.

Plans are moving forward to take down these deteriorating neighborhood eyesores and community hazards -- some of which have been blighted for years and stretch from the East Side to Riverside and the lower West Side, officials announced Friday.

The properties, which are both city-owned and privately owned, were selected by the city's Department of Permits and Inspections based on conditions of the sites, as well as the amount of complaints from neighboring residents.

"We've identified the worst of the worst large commercial demos that need to be done in the City of Buffalo," Mayor Byron W. Brown said in an afternoon news conference.

The total costs of the 10 demolitions is estimated at more than $3 million.

On Monday, demolition will begin on a former brass foundry and machine shop at the corner of Sycamore and Lathrop streets, which is surrounded by a metal fence draped with red tape and signs warning of asbestos contamination.

The property was once home to a business that sold used office furniture, Lisk said, and it's just waiting for another fire to occur.

"I'm happy to see anything go good in this neighborhood," he said.

Since 2006, the city has demolished 26 abandoned commercial properties at a cost of about $5.1 million, Brown said.

As city officials and members of the news media gathered outside 197 Lathrop, and right before the news conference began, a passing motorist yelled a message that might echo what many in the neighborhood feel.

"About time."

email: abesecker@buffnews.com

Aaron Besecker – Aaron Besecker is a breaking news and criminal justice reporter for The Buffalo News. He has been a News staff reporter since 2007.